The Gibson ES-335

The dreaded and hated Gibson volute from the 70’s. Lots of folks removed it but one guy actually added one.

I’ve seen some oddball mods over the years but this one kind of takes it. First, a little history. In 1969 at around the time Gibson was bought by the Norlin Corp (beer, cement), somebody, probably a suit, decided that too many guitars were coming back for headstock repairs. So, they did something about it. The thinking at the time was to strengthen the neck at the wrist with a carved bump that would supposedly reinforce that very vulnerable part of the neck. This bump/reinforcement is called a volute. Not to be confused with a veloute´which is roux based soup and won’t help your guitar’s neck at all but will almost certainly taste pretty good. Now, as it turns out, almost everybody hated the volute and to make matters worse, it really didn’t work all that well because the necks kept breaking only now they broke below (or above) the volute. But I already did a post about volutes years ago and I don’t do repeats. This is about a guitar that actually had a volute added to it.

Picture that it’s 1972 or so and new guitars from Gibson are what everybody wants. Strats have gone down the tubes and everybody knows it but Gibsons still are the one to own. Les Paul Deluxes were really popular among the folks I hung with back then (I was 20 in 72). The volute was, largely, considered an improvement for Gibson because neck breaks were something most players were really aware of and many had experienced them. So, what does the owner of this particular guitar (a T FON 60 ES-335 with a pair of monster double whites and a big fat neck) do to “upgrade” his 12 year old guitar? Dumbest thing I’ve seen yet with the possible exception of the “turnbuckle” neck repair. He had a luthier very competently install, you guessed it, a volute. Nicely done too-using a matching block of mahogany carved into the correct volutey shape, it was spliced, using a scarf joint at the lower end and a straight joint at the top partway up the headstock. It must have been a thing of beauty. Voila-a modern 1972 Gibson. Imagine the pride he must have felt. Poor guy.

Now the good news. At some point, someone realized just how freakin’ stupid this gambit was and removed the offensive bump from the back of the headstock. But, because it was attached using tried and true lutherie wood joinery, the scarf joint and straight joint were still visible. They simply sanded off the volute part and left the rest of the new wood, as they should have, as part of the neck. A little lacquer touchup and the guitar is as good as new. Sort of.

This is the work done to add the volute before the finish was redone to hide it.

Well, I own this guitar now and I was kind of hesitant to buy it. I’m positive the neck joint will never give anyone a moments trouble and it is totally stable and the neck was never cracked or broken but, hey, there’s a well executed scarf joint where one doesn’t belong. Other than that, it’s a very clean rare as rare gets 58 factory order 1960 serial ES-335. This is the fourth one of these odd 335’s I’ve had. I can understand the FON and the serial being a few months apart but over a year? That probably means the body/neck was put aside to be used when Gibson got behind on orders. The 58 bodies were prone to cracking around the jack and Gibson got more complaints than they were happy with, so bye bye thin top. You see them sprinkled throughout 1959 and, as I mentioned, rarely in 1960.

Once clearer heads prevailed, the volute was removed by simply cutting and sanding. A few folks have suggested it was done to repair a crack. If that is true then the crack must have been very shallow as there is no sign of any damage to the wood and the added wood is quite thin.

This guitar has what might well be the best sounding bridge pickup I’ve ever encountered on a 335. The guitar cracks the top twenty for sure and possibly the top ten. It’s that good. The top ten is full of guitars with the same description…58 FON with a good neck angle. Late 58, 59 or 60 serial. Thin top. Usually double whites or zebras. Big neck. Out of the top ten, seven fit this description. No, double whites don’t sound better because they are white. But they tend to be somewhat overwound and that makes a difference.

This is the headstock as it looks today. Volute removed and finish touch up. I know. You can’t see it.

So, what would you pay for a 60 ES-335 with a thin top, a pair of killer double white PAFs, a big fat 58 neck and a scarf joint? I know what I paid-probably too much-but it’s such a great player with astonishing tone that I had to say yes. If the joint ever gives up, I’ll give you back your money as long as I’m still alive. Guaranteed or my name isn’t Orville Gibson.

Here is the guitar. It is a monster player with a pair of double white PAFs. Big neck and thin top. What’s the discount for a well executed scarf joint? I guess I’ll find out.

Monday, May 12th, 2025 at 3:12 pm • ES 335, Gibson General • RSS 2.0 feed • leave a response or trackback